35 years ago today, the NBA scoring title was on the line with one game remaining.

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: This is one of the great stories in NBA history.

Thompson's Denver squad played the Pistons in Detroit and the "Skywalker" got off to a ridiculous start, setting an NBA record by making 13 field goals in the first quarter. Thompson sums up his feelings in his book, Skywalker:

"Not realizing what had just occurred -- it all happened so fast -- I was amazed to learn later that I had set an NBA record for most points in a quarter with 32. That beat Wilt Chamberlain's 1962 mark by one, set in that historic game where Wilt scored 100 points. Equally stunning was my accuracy in that first quarter. I went 13-14 from the field (Poquette's block being the only shot I missed) and 6-6 from the foul line.

My 13 field goals were also a new NBA record, and it still stands to this day."

He continued his torrid pace for the remainder of the game, finishing with a total of 73 points, the most ever for a guard in NBA history, until Kobe broke it with his 81 point game. Remember though, neither Thompson nor Gervin had the advantage of the three-point shot.

"I had been locked in a scoring duel with George Gervin of the Spurs for much of the year. Only 14 points separated us at the top of the league scoring chart heading into our last games that Sunday."

Speaking of Gervin, later that evening "The Iceman" poured in a cool 63 points (probably without sweating) and just barely edged out Thompson by the slimmest of margins, the closest in NBA history, to win the 1978 scoring title: 27.22 to 27.15.

After scoring 73 points, the first thing Thompson did when he got home was check in on Gervin's progress.

"When I finally made it home, I scanned the dial on the radio and attempted to pick up the San Antonio versus New Orleans broadcast. If it had been any player other than "The Iceman," I wouldn't have even bothered. I caught the game early into the second quarter, and by halftime Gervin had fired in 53 points. I knew then that my 73 had been in vain."

Even though Thompson lost the scoring title, his value as an NBA player was at its apex. He was rewarded during the off-season with a record breaking contract- $4 million dollars for five years. That was the most any basketball player had been paid in NBA history. What do you think Kobe or LeBron would say if that got offered that deal today? The game has come a long way.

The closest match-up in recent memory to the slugfest between Thompson and Gervin was in 1995 when David Robinson and Shaquille O'Neal went at it for the scoring title, which also came down to the final regular season game. Robinson scored 71 points and edged Shaq 29.8 to 29.3.

So it got me thinking: Who are the best one on one match-ups in NBA history?

Here are the first batlles that came to mind.

Shaquille O'Neal vs. Hakeem Olajuwon

Their match-up in the 1995 NBA Finals has been washed asunder by the tides of history, but at the time, this may have been the best duel I have ever witness. Hakeem was paying the best basketball of his career this season (in the playoffs particularly)and maybe the best stretch for any center in NBA history. Shaq led the NBA in scoring this season (29.3 ppg) and was in the midst of establishing himself as the most physically dominant center ever. In the Finals, Hakeem averaged 32.8 ppg and Shaq scored 28.0 ppg.

They played against each other 27 times, including 11 games in the playoffs of 1971 and 1972. In their first 11 meetings, Chamberlain was still able to (i.e. inclined to) score with Jabbar. In those first 11 games, Wilt averaged 22.8 ppg and 17.6 rebounds, while Kareem averaged 26.0 ppg and 15.6 rebounds.

50 ppg, 30.1 ppg over his career, 23 rebounds/game over his career, the only non-guard ever to lead the league in assists, 100 points in one game, the list goes on...Wilt was simply more dominating.

Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James

This is absolutely the most exciting match-up in the current NBA, with both players battling every night for supremacy. In five playoff games (last year's NBA Finals), KD outscored LBJ 30.6 ppg to 28.6 ppg. But James dominated in every other statistical category and also won the title, by a margin of 4-1. In 11 regular season match-ups it's the same story; Durant averages 29.0 to LBJ's 28.1, "Bron Bron" has the edge in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks and has won nine of the 11 games. "Durantula" has some work to do, potentially in this years NBA Finals.

Dominique Wilkins vs. Michael Jordan

Of their era, these were the two most athletically gifted, electrifying players. WIlkins at times, looked like he almost had too much energy for his body, while MJ was always smooooooth. In 45 career games against each other, Jordan won 27 while "Nique" won 18. MJ averaged 31.6, while Wilkins poured in 29.8 as both players had almost identical stat lines. In one playoff series that the Bulls swept, Jordan averaged 34.3, 6.7 rpg, 4.3 apg to Nique's 30.0, 5.3 rpg and 3.0 apg.

Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan

The significance of this rivalry isn't as much about the head to head play, though that was extremely entertaining, but about what it meant to the league- was it not old MJ versus a young version of himself? Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan played each other 8 times, four when Jordan was with the Chicago Bulls and 4 when he was with the Washington Wizards. The Lakers won 5 of those games. Across these games, Bryant scored an average of 22.8 points, while Jordan scored 24.5 points.

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, who are the five best Irish basketball players to suck down a green beer and play in the NBA?

HoopsVibe Very Quick Call: The list is short and not great, which is what you'd expect.

The only Irish player in history born and bred in Ireland to play in the NBA was Pat Burke, a 6-11 center who spent three years with the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns.

5. Marty Conlon

Conlon was a 6-10 lumbering big man who specialized in...uh...being big. And Irish, in that order. In nine NBA seasons he played for eight teams, including the Boston Celtics who has a franchise, have always had an affinity for large, slow, white men (Brian Sclabrine types). Conlon also had an extremely weird form when shooting free throws.

4. Chris Mullin

Without a doubt, the best Irish shooter in NBA history was Chris Mullin. Not only that, but he was probably the best pure scorer as well. "Mullie" averaged 25+ ppg in five straight seasons from '88-'89 to '92-'93. Check out these highlights from when he went head to head with the greatest non-irish basketball player of all-time, Michael Jordan:

3. Kevin McHale

McHale averaged 17.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg in a 13 year career where he never scored less than 10.0 ppg in any season. The king of the up and under move in and around the basket, on either side of the Atlantic.

Word on the street is, Shaquille O'Neal participated in Superbowl festivities over the weekend and had has his eye on one particular Entertainment Tonight reporter.
Hoopsvibe's quick call: Shaq is known to be a charmer, so this rumor isn't too surprising.Read More

Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant almost come to blows in the locker room.
HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Now this is a fight I'd love to see go into the UFC octogon. My money's on Howard in the first round.Read More

HoopsVibe's Very Quick Call: Well, we knew Orlando wasn't going to do it.

It's official, the Los Angeles Lakers will retire Shaq's #34. The dedication ceremony will be on April 2. One day earlier and we would have really had some news. I can think of nothing more fitting than a dedication ceremony on April Fools Day.

Most view this as a given. The Lakers needed to retire his number seeing has he will go down in history as one of the best big men ever. His numbers speak for themselves and yet, I can't help but thinking Shaq's a little relieved. It's obviously common knowledge that Shaq left LA feuding with Kobe. Shaq bounced around the league with a number of teams, won a championship in Miami, and grew to accept his role, as a backup center.

His career stats are impressive though. Shaq's a 15-time All-Star, won 4 NBA titles (3 in LA and 1 in Miami), he finished with 28,596 points, (23.7 ppg), 13,099 rebounds (10.9 rpg), and 2,732 blocks (2.3 bpg). These are monster numbers and his per game averages were somewhat deflated by his lengthy exit strategy from the league where he played significantly past his prime and lowered those numbers.

He will be remembered for his on the court dominance, his larger than life personality, and even his off the court antics. His ex-wife has left us with the dubious pop reality of "Basketball Wives" on VH1 and Shaq's transitioned into an NBA analyst.

Hoopsvibe Very Quick Call: As of this very moment, who has more money: Vanilla Ice or Gilbert Arenas? According to Wikipedia, the "Iceman" is still worth $20 million dollars. Arenas made $119 million dollars in his NBA career (including a staggering $19.2, a career high, in 2011-12) but how much does he have left?

Hey. Who is tired of this? People want us to feel sorry for a guy who is making $90+ million, Nike cash, and other endorsement money? Say what? Why do they have to resort writing pieces basically implying “Hey he is not that bad.” Wow. Now people are defending him – the same people who were bashing him prior to the 2010-2011 season. It’s too bad. So we’re just going to sweep the one hour Decision extravaganza complete with jersey photo shops under the rug?

The Chicago Bulls becoming the number one team, record wise, reveals a quantum leap this season and ramifications for the future. Not many people are examining the Bulls massive improvements – they practically flew over the Atlantic Ocean without breaking a sweat. Imagine predicting that the Bulls would be the number one team with the best defense before the season started. Imagine that. People laugh, mock, wants some weed that you smoked, and then label you a Bulls homer. That is why some of us should say, “We’ll see.”

It seems like basketball players age quicker than any other of the major sports, with the exception of the running back in the NFL. When a running back hits 30, he’s invariably done and this has been proven over and over again. Is the same thing true for NBA players? Is 30 the death knell for most pure scorers? Centers and even power forwards (Shaq, Kurt Thomas I’m looking at you) can hang around forever because you “can’t teach size” and at the very least they provide a defensive presence. But a scorer isn’t afforded the same luxuries and is usually jettisoned at the first hint of decline in production.